164. DARWIN7 ALMY (Isaac6, Cook5, John4, Job3-2, William1),b. Tiverton, RI, 28 Feb 1848; d. Providence, RI, 9 Mar 1916.
He m.(1) Providence, 25 May 1875, CLARA ABBY COOK, b. MA, 14 Jan 1855; d. 4 Apr 1887; dau of William L. and Abby Cook. He m.(2) Apr 1888, JANET SPENCE, b. RI, Jul 1856; d. 5 Feb 1915. He m.(3) Providence, Dec 1915, Mrs. Ella J. Wilbour.
Children by Darwin and Clara, born Bristol, RI:
| 298 | i | WALTER SMITH8, b. 4 Aug 1876; d. 7 Aug 1963; m. 6 Apr 1904, HARRIET JOSEPHINE GLINES, b. Providence, RI, 8 Apr 1875; d. 22 Sep 1943; dau of Frederick Mark and Kate Josephine (Laughlin) Glines. |
| 299 | ii | CHARLES FREDERICK HERBERT, b. 10 Jan 1879; d. Wakefield, RI, 11 Jan 1964; m.(1) 2 Nov 1907, CLEMENTINE CAMERON, d. 4 Oct 1939; dau of John and Annie Cameron. He m.(2) 1 Feb 1941, EDITH WATSON. |
| iii | CLARA M., b. 7 Mar 1886; m. Providence, 24 Feb 1912, HAROLD SUTTON, age 34; d. 1961; son of Silas and Charlotte Sutton. Child: 1. Deborah Sutton. |
Following are the Darwin Almy households in the Federal censuses for Bristol (1880) and Providence (1900), RI.
1880: Darwin 32, b. RI; Clara A. 25, wife, b. MA; Walter S. 3, son, b. RI; and Charles F. H. 1, son, b. RI.
1900: Darwin 52, b. RI Feb 1848; Janet S. 44, wife, b. RI Jul 1856; Walter S. 23, son, b. RI Aug 1876; Charles F. H. 21, son, b. RI Jan 1879; and Clara M. 14, dau, b. RI Mar 1886.
Darwin attended the local Tiverton schools and at the age of 16 he gave up school and began work on the home farm, remaining there until his father died. Darwin then became involved in the menhaden (fish) oil business, and was the master for 4 years of a steamer engaged in that line of work. At the age of 26 he left this business and began the manufacturing of jewelry in Providence in partnership with Edwin A. Baker. However, after two years he returned to the fishing business and remained at it until age 31 when he entered the employ of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, of Bristol, becoming foreman of the boiler or engineering department, which he ran for eleven years. In the Spring of 1890, Darwin patented the Almy Water Tube Boiler, which he had started manufacturing on 1 September 1899. He formed the corporation known as the Almy Water Tube Boiler Company. The company was very successful and employed about 35 men.
Darwin, though a Republican, was never active in politics. He belonged to the Providence Association of Mechanical Engineers; Rhode Island Automobile Club; Rhode Island Yacht Club; Bristol Yacht Club; New York Yacht Club; American Society of Mechanical Engineers; Engineers Club of New York; American Society of Naval Engineers; and the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.
REFERENCES: FAMILY RECORDS; FEDERAL CENSUSES; LAWTON p. 56; RepMenRI pp. 659-660.